Dova Pharmaceuticals Reports Worse-than-expected Earnings

Developmental drug company Dova Pharmaceuticals Inc. reported second quarter earnings Thursday that missed Wall Street expectations in its first quarter as a public company.

The Durham-based company reported a loss of $5.5 million, or 32 cents per share, in the second quarter, better than the loss of $7.2 million, or 42 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2016.

However, analysts were expecting a smaller loss of 24 cents per share.

“The highlight of the second quarter was the pricing of our IPO, which significantly strengthened our balance sheet,” said Chief Executive Officer Alex Sapir in a statement.

“The proceeds from the IPO will help us to effectively build the necessary commercial infrastructure to support the potential launch of avatrombopag in the U.S. and to aggressively invest in the clinical development of avatrombopag for follow-on indications.”

Research and development expenses were $3.3 million in the second quarter of 2017, compared to $7 million for the same period in 2016.

The company plans to file a new drug application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for avatrombopag in the third quarter of 2017.

Dova went public in late June. The company was formed in March 2016 and has produced no revenue. It posted a loss of $27.2 million in 2016 and a loss of $5.4 million in the first three months of 2017.

Dova is developing treatments for patients suffering from orphan diseases.

The company’s lead investigational drug, avatrombopag, is in the process of completing two Phase 3 clinical trials researching its use as a potential treatment for thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic liver disease.